1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention most generally relates to electrical outlet boxes as are customarily used for wall mounting of electric lighting circuit switches and electrical power outlets and related devices; and more particularly it relates to folding electrical outlet boxes intended for assembly and installation in wallboard.
2. Background Art
The construction industry has a long established practice of using wall mounted junction boxes to mount electrical power outlets and light switches and otherwise join and/or terminate electrical wires for user access to power for portable devices or control of lighting circuits and the like. Many variations of wall-mounted, open face junction boxes are represented in past and present commercially available products, and in the patented art, some being foldable, some disclosing new features.
For example, folding boxes are represented by Tansi's U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,457, a molded plastic foldable electrical outlet box with so-called "living hinge" joint lines for folding, a groove and blade structure for joining panel edges at right angles, and integral sleeves for nails for attaching the box to a stud. Jorgensen's U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,947 discloses a foldable electrical box for new work installations, with upper and lower nailing flanges for nailing the box to a stud. Both are for new work, prior to installation of wallboard. Schnell's U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,359 shows upper and lower, corner configured, rotable retention clips and screws that are used to secure a non-metallic, "old-work" box within a hole in the wallboard.
Bowden's U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,525 and Slater et al's U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,957 illustrate a box having corner mounted rotable retention clips, related to those of Schnell's clips. Recessed, self clamping cable entry ports are also shown.
Bordwell's U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,424 discloses an old-work, wall mounting assembly with hinged side flaps as retention means, where the flaps are unfolded and brought forward to bear on the inside surface of the wallboard. Lockwood's U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,330 discloses a related, deployable flap structure for old work or "cut-in" work, as it may be called. Resilient hinges at the hinge line of the foldable wall panels of an electrical junction box, which become rigid under tension of the fold, are disclosed in Delamour et al's U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,787.
In summary, problems not adequately addressed in the art include the need for an electrical junction box system for a rework, or cut-in or old work applications, that folds flat for efficient bulk packaging, distribution and storage; that has no unattached parts to get lost; that provides for simple snap lock assembly in single or ganged configurations; that has a simple, front actuated, upper and lower centerline retainer mechanism permitting quick and secure installation without tilt to one side or the other; that has provision for quick and ready grounding of the receptacle or switch assembly mounting plate to the box, that has flush, self-clamping cable ports; and that retains a maximum amount of interior space for wiring.